*State, Economy And Almajirci System Of Education In Nigeria*
*By*
*Sulaiman Khalid, Ph.D.*
*Department of Sociology,*
*Usmanu Danfodiyo University,*
*Sokoto – Nigeria.*
*e-mail:[log in to unmask] *
* *
*Text of Paper presented the 1st African Regional Consultative Conference on
'The Role of Parliamentarians in the Protection and Development of Almajiri
Child,' 7 th -11th May, 2006, Arewa House, Kaduna-Nigeria.*
* *
1. INTRODUCTION
Learning to read and write the Holy Qur'an at an early age is an integral
part of the socialisation processes of every child in Hausaland. It is
therefore an established norm for parents to register their children with
selected *makarantar allo *(Qur'anic school) which could be found in every
Muslim community, no matter how small. The expectation of the society is
that by the time a pupil graduated from one of such schools, he would be
able to recite the Qur'an and read and write, using Arabic scripts. The
introduction of Western education did not significantly affect enrolment
into *makarantar allo*, as the school age children still attend primary
schools in the morning while they go to Islamic schools in the afternoon.* *
Not all the children receive their Qur'anic education in the neighbourhood
under the watchful eyes of their parents, though. Once farm work is over,
some parents in distant villages despatch their boys off to urban centres of
Hausaland in search of Qur'anic education. These children however return to
their farms at the beginning of every planting season. The community that
receive them feed the children from their left-over and make a little use of
their labour; older boys do casual work if they can get it, like fetching
water or carrying loads ( *dako*), while the under-aged (6-10years), not
strong enough to do such work go round begging, usually in groups. These
migrant children are known as *almajirai* (sing. *almajiri*) and their
activity is referred to as *almajirci*.
The term *almajiri* is Hausa word for pupil or student. The word is derived
from the Arabic term *almuhajir*, meaning the migrant. The term has its
origin in the historical flight of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his
compatriots from Mecca to Medina in the early days of Islam. Those who
emigrated with the Prophet were known as *muhajirun* (sing *muhajir*). Since
the Prophet was known to have declared that: ''whoever sets out seeking
knowledge will be walking in the path of God until his return, and whoever
dies while travelling for learning will be regarded as a martyr'' ( *The
Muqaddimah*, 1967:427), those who respond to this precept are, to this day,
referred to as *al*-*muhajirun* or migrants. Thus, slowly, travelling came
to be associated with knowledge and those who embarked on its search
resorted to taking along with them disciples, abandoning all vocation, for
complete devotion to their studies. In its usage, therefore, the word means
those who left their towns or villages, parents, friends and relations, in
search of religious knowledge and scholarship. Not infrequently, it is
loosely used in referring to beggars or destitute in general.
Perhaps more than any other social problem in the northern parts of the
River Niger, almajirci has remained a major source of concern to the
governments and citizens alike in the last quarter of the twentieth century.
Accordingly, the phenomenon has generated a long drawn debate among
different interest groups of society. They either argued for the retention
of the *status quo* or advocated a reform or even outright proscription of
the system. Beginning with an examination of the nature, its *modus
operandi* and the historical forces that gave prominence to the system, this
paper seeks to highlight some of the socio-economic as well as the political
implications of its retention in the contemporary dispensation. Particular
attention is paid to the interplay of economic, religious and cultural
factors in shaping the distinctive features of the system. The analysis is
predominantly based on empirical data generated during the field study
conducted in Sokoto metropolis between November 1995 and June 1997. A sample
of 837 *almajirai *and 22 migrant* malams *was used.
The main objective of this paper is to assess the nature and magnitude of
the problem with the view to stimulating further research and dispassionate
deliberation on a phenomenon that is now assuming crisis dimension.
*2. SOCIO-ECONOMIC ROOTS OF ALMAJIRCI*
* *
*2.1 Main Features of Almajirci*
* *It is appropriate to begin by drawing a distinction between
three categories of *almajirai* *(*migrant Qur'anic school pupils*)* that
are found in most urban of Hausaland. The first categories of *almajirai *are
those children given out in trust to a resident *malam* by parents who live
in the same locality. The children are placed on a full-time, day and night,
study of the Qur'an and stay permanently in the compound of the *malam*.
Unlike their peer groups who live with their parents these children do not
attend Western type primary / secondary schools. Generally looking rough and
dirty, these pupils are hardly distinguishable from their migrant
colleagues. They live together, sleep together and play about together. The
only distinguishable element is that their feeding, clothing, medical care
and other aspects of welfare were taken care of by their parents. This
category of pupils will not form the focus of the paper.
The second categories of the migrant pupils are those who have
to beg and, sometimes, work in order to feed themselves. Here, too,
distinction must be made between two types of pupils on the basis of
duration of their migration. The first category in this rank are those whose
mainly rural parents attach to selected urban-based *malams* and will not
return until they 'graduate' which may take two or more years. It is this
category of *almajirai *that "keep the flag flying" throughout the year.
Numerically, they are by far fewer than the seasonal migrants. Again, this
category of pupils is not the focus of this paper.
The other category of migrant Qur'anic school pupils are those
who come in the company of their *malams *from rural areas to settle
temporarily in the city during the dry season and return along with
their *malams
*to their farms in the wet season. This last category is the main focus, and
subject-matter, of this paper. We restricted our research to the last
category because they constituted the vast majority of migrant Qur'anic
schools' pupils whose movement and activities in the urban areas became a
source of major concern.
The short-term circulation is organised by *malamai* who would
normally gather around them school-age male children numbering up to fifty.
Each boy would take his transport fare, sleeping mat, clothes, wooden slate
or *allo, *quill-pen (*alkalami), *ink (*tawada) *and food bowls. On
reaching the town they would stay with an established local *malam* or in
the compound of some prominent persons in the community. Not all the pupils
are brought by the migrant teachers or even taught by them once in the town
and entrust them to an established local *malam*.
*2.2 Age Distribution of the Migrant Pupils*
The age of the pupils varies considerably, with more than half (
50.15%) falling between the age category of 10 to 15. About one third (
33.33%) are in the age category of 5 to 9 years of age. While only 16.48 per
cent are between 16 to 19 years of age. On the average, 83.49 per cent of
all the almajirai are between the ages of 5 to 15. The migrant teachers
themselves are youthful and energetic people in their prime. Over 80 per
cent of them are within the age bracket of 25 and 35 with the highest number
( 45.45%) being in the 31 – 35 years category. Only 4.55 per cent of them
were found to be 41 years and above.
The age distribution of the migrant teachers is consistent with
the demographic theory which maintains that the probability that an
individual moves from one region to another is a function of the
characteristics of the individual, prominent among which is his age (Rose,
1996). While members of his age-group are stimulated to migrate to urban
centres primarily by economic considerations, the youthful Qur'anic school
teacher move their school to urban areas to "eat the dry season" away ( *
ci-rani*). All the 22 teachers interviewed reported that they operated
a *makarantar
allo* in their place of origin. They are primarily farmers by occupation and
religious teachers by profession. During the rainy season they cultivate
their own farmlands. Indeed, all of them claim that the desire to acquire
advance Islamic knowledge from more learned *malams* in the urban areas as
the major motive for their migration. The tendency to partake in seasonal
migration gradually diminishes as they attain the age of 35. By the time
they cross 40 years (4.55%) most of them seem to 'retire' from the
peripatetic tradition, perhaps due to growing family pressure.
*2.3 Almajirci and Ci-Rani*
The dry-season Qur'anic school circulation in Hausa society is
characterised by the movement of school-age children from generally smaller,
mainly subsistence agricultural communities to larger, commercial and
industrial communities. This is attested by data which revealed that
68.30per cent of the almajirai hailed from rural areas, while
27.96 per cent originated from areas designated as semi-urban. Therefore it
is safe to consider *almajirci *as another dimension in rural-urban
migration.
Urban-urban seasonal migration for the purpose of Qur'anic
studies is not prevalent in the study area. Only 2.74 per cent of our sample
population came from urban areas, notably Argungu, Birnin-Kebbi and Funtua.
Rural-rural migration of *almajirai, *though of limited scale, was also
noticeable in seven villages visited in the course of this research. The
massive seasonal influx of school-age boys from rural to urban areas in the
name of *almajirci* was, indeed, consistent with rural-urban nature of the
phenomenon.
During the long dry-season which characterised the Sudan
Savanna, most Qur'anic schools in the rural areas remain closed, because
both the teachers and pupils had shifted their classrooms to the city. Those
schools that remain in session have very few students attending them. This
observation is further confirmed by the fact that 86.14 per cent of the *
almajirai* stated that they regularly attend *makarantar* *allo* when they
return.
When asked to justify the reason for sending their wards to
cities in the name of *karatun allo (*Qur'anic studies) when the relevant
facilities were available right in the village, the parents seem to have a
common answer: the children concentrate on their studies most if they are
physically away from home. In the words of a 'retired' migrant Qur'anic
school teacher in one of the villages, "the children learn in three months
what take them more than one year to learn in the village". Some of the
parents complained that they found it difficult to enforce regular
attendance of their children at the village Qur'anic school. This may
account for the 13.66 per cent of those who reported that they did not
attend *makarantar allo* back in the village.
*2.4 Housing Accommodation*
* *At the destination end, one obvious implication of migration
is the need for housing. Housing accommodation is required but also for the
thousands of pupils on seasonal migration but also for the teachers who are
often accompanied by families. For this purpose, no migrant *malam *leaves
his place of origin without knowing preciously where he will lodge once in
the city. In this regard the host community tended to be very generous with
the migrant pupils and their teachers. They donate parts of their houses or
built some with the sole aim of accommodating the *almajirai,* and no rent
is charged. Over 93 per cent of the migrant pupils' population are provided
with various kinds of accommodation. The problem however is with the quality
and capacity of the accommodation. When the current size of *almajirai* is
related to existing house designated for them, it becomes obvious that the
migrant pupils face acute shortage of accommodation. Thus,as many as between
twenty and twenty-five pupils would sleep in a 14ft x 12ft room.
For the majority of the migrant pupils (54.72%), door entrance
(*zaure *) was only available sleeping place, while 21.62 percent slept in
the same classroom where they took their lesson. Uncompleted buildings
housed 3.47 percent, leaving 6.57 per cent completely exposed to the harsh
weather. Only those almajirai accommodated in the neighbourhood ( 11.71%)
and those sheltered by their relations in the town (1.91%) were generally
unaffected by the acute shortage of accommodation.
Not only were children living in an over-crowed environment, but
the quality and hygienic condition of those houses left much to be desired.
Most of the buildings were made of stones covered with mud and many of them
are left in a state of utter disrepair. Added to that, most rooms lack
inner floor plaster, roofing ceilings, adequate ventilation and basic
amenities such as toilets, bathrooms and tap water.
* 2.5 Classroom Accommodation*
The problem of class room accommodation was even more visible in
all the schools visited. Pupils' sleeping rooms in all cases also doubled
as their classrooms. Indeed, more space was required for the lesson
sessions since in most of the schools the resident children also take their
lesions in the same school with the migrant pupils. As a result of this,
over 42 percent of the pupils reported that they took their lessons in the
open space. If we take into account the fact that seasonal Qur'anic
migration took place mostly during the harmatan season, a season
characterized by sandy winds from the Sahara desert and chilly nights and
mornings, this could have a devastating effect on the health of the children
who were, on the whole, poorly clothed and poorly nourished.
Partly because the living conditions were no more comfortable
than in the village, and partly because they considered their objective
circumstances as a concomitant aspect of religious devotion, the migrant
pupils did not perceive their living environment as degrading and truly
appalling. So, when asked, if given the choice, whether they would prefer
to remain and study in their village/town of origin during the next season,
86.62 percent were not in favour of the suggestion.
*2.6 Feeding and Welfare *
Once in the city, the children have to fend for themselves.
Their parents do not make any provision for their feeding, medical expenses
and other incidentals. They do not see anything wrong with that attitude.
They reason that the host community should shoulder that responsibility *fi
sabil-Allah* (meaning, for the pleasure of Allah). 2.27 percent of the
pupils, mostly from the urban and semi-urban areas, said that their feeding
was taken care of by their parents through their resident *malams *.
Another 1.91 percent said that they were fed by their relations resident in
the city. The entire remaining 95.82 percent reported that they were solely
responsible for their own feeding.
For this reason, the school time-table was planned in such a way
that it would allow the pupils to go and search for their means of
sustenance. Between lessons the boys would go round the city with their
bowls, street-by-street, compound-by compound, begging for food and money to
keep body and soul in together. This was what characterized the non-school
activities of 77.06 percent of the migrant pupils. Another 12.90 percent of
them were engaged in household chores in lieu of which they got food and,
sometimes, even accommodation. Only 10.04 percent of the boys depended on
their personal productivity to maintain themselves.
The migrant pupils have developed a sense of *esprit de corps*.
Averages of about seven boys moves about together and are always ready to
assist a member in trouble. In this way, those coming to the city for the
first time get properly orientated. Whatever food they get is brought back
to school and eaten together, a security against starvation of any pupil
that may not get any food on a particular day.
* 2.7 Almajirai and Urban Household Economy*
It is one of the assumptions of this paper that almajirci
persists to date because it is partly functionally related to the needs and
requirements of the institution of purdah in urban Hausa- Fulani Muslim
communities. There are very few socio-economic activities open to secluded
women which do not require the assistance of children. While some husbands
help with shopping and see that their households are provided with all the
necessary provisions such as fire-wood, meat, and so on, many simply give
their wife(-ves) money for all purchases. As certain purchases inevitably
require a trip to one of the markets which might be several kilometres away
from their homes, the secluded women rely on the children for the shopping.
One of the daily tasks of many children in the cities is to
carry goods and messages, take food for grinding, take out refuse and, in
those houses without taps, carry water into the houses. In fact, even those
number of economic activities affordable to women in purdah -such as
tailoring, hair plaiting, embroidering men's caps, food for sale, or trading
from within the house-require assistance of the children for purchasing
materials, delivering goods and selling the final products.
But the children are now busy, almost full-time, with formal
education, thus depriving the women of their presence. With the reduction
of Muslim cultural resistance to Western education and the acceptance of the
Universal Primary Education (UPE) scheme in 1976, most of the children in
urban areas have to be in school between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.,
and they study at *makarantar allo* and *Islamiyyah* schools between 3:00
p.m and 6:00 p.m The consequences is that the burden of household tasks
performed by them has to be passed on to certain categories of household
helps. And many families found it convenient to engage the services of
almajirai.
In most parts of Northern Nigeria, the almajirai provided a
source of very cheap domestic labour as most were ready to accept anything
offered to them. With almajirai around, not many families need to employ
household help, as many of former get just accommodation and board in lieu
of the chores and errands they perform. So much was the reliance of certain
families on the labour of almajirai that, according to some migrant malams,
they sent gifts and pleasantries to them when they left enticing them to
come back on time.
* 2.8 Begging and Almajirci*
One of the most serious charges levelled against almajiranci was that
it subjected its clients to a condition of beggary. The Kano State
Committee on Almajirai aptly captured this mood when it stated that:
*The agony of a five to ten-year old child having to live barely on his own
with virtually on visible means of support for his livelihood other than the
little sadaqah (charity) he gets from Samaritans is a real one *(Kano State,
1988:8).
Indeed, most *malams* assumed that *bara* (begging) was an
integral component of almajiranci. Some of them even emphasized that
without *bara *the education received would not be blessed. Indeed , not
only were the parents aware of the fact that their wards would have to beg
in order to eat, but many even legitimated the act as a functional input
which was helpful in that process. Their arguments were largely similar:
the child must be detached from the comfort of his home and taste some form
of material deprivation if he is to take Qur'anic study seriously. In fact,
some parents reported that they personally bought the food bowls for their
wards in readiness for *bara *the moment they reached the city.
The host community itself was partly guilty of encouraging *bara
* by almajirai. If the parents of the migrant pupils knew that nobody would
give their wards anything when they begged, they would definitely not
dispatch them to the city unless they could make adequate arrangement for
their welfare. But on the contrary, many people in Sokoto have made it a
point of spiritual duty, in keeping with the Islamic norms of charity, to
give out something to beggars on a daily basis. In fact, some households
were reputed to prepare sufficient food to distribute to the almajirai.
Others at least ensured that their left-over were given to them the moment
they were heard outside residences chanting for surplus food. The
migrant *malams* themselves do not go about begging for food or money, but
each of those items was freely and regularly donated to them as
*sadaqah*for the up-keep of their families.
Clearly the religious and cultural values of the area have
played a very crucial role in the support and encouragement of almajiranci.
*2.9 Economic Basis of Almajirci*
The issue of *almajirci* in Hausa society is much more complex and intricate
than many people are ready to appreciate. To start with, conceptual
distinction should be made between *almajirci* and *karatun allo,* or
Qur'anic schooling. The two are doubtlessly related since *almajirci *is an
off-shoot of Qur'anic school system, but it is not in its own right the same
thing with the latter and the two are therefore hardly inter-changeable. It
is possible to have a Qur'anic school without almajirci as is usually the
case in most *makarantun allo* in both rural and urban centres of Hausa
society. Indeed, there exist no logical or rational link between
child-begging or labour and Islamic education. After all, Muslim children
in other parts of the world, and indeed in other parts of Nigeria, receive
Islamic education with a sense of dignity and without having to beg.
Clearly, this is not a purely educational problem and therefore, no amount
of reform or control or Qur'anic schools can resolve it.
Let us first consider the timing of *almajirci*. There are two specific
periods in which *almajirai* flood the cities: *kadar raba *(removal of the
dew) and *ci-rani* (dry season movements). *Kadar raba* is the short rainy
reason migration which takes place between the harvest of millet in August
and that of guinea-corn in October. This is the period when there is
practically no work on the farm. *Ci-rani* takes place during the dry
season which is the most difficult period for the peasants. The farm work
is generally completed and there is virtually nothing to do.
Indeed, the twentieth century developments have transformed
*almajiranci*phenomenon itself from an educational to a political
economy category
(Indabawa, 1992). So when any policy seeks to reform the
*almajiranci*system, the chances are that the problems will be left
unidentified and
unsolved. Similarly, controlling the movements and registration of pupils
is in itself diversionary and amounts to a cover-up of the real problem
behind the problems (Indabawa, 1992:78). The result of a study conducted in
Sokoto (Khalid, 1997) has indicated that foremost among the determinants of
the existence and persistence of *almajirci *in Hausa society is the
economic factor. The vast majority of the migrant children were from rural
communities and rural communities in Northern Nigeria as well as other parts
of Hausaland are characterized by mass poverty, virtual absence of
non-agricultural economic activities and general neglect in terms of
provision of infrastructural facilities and other indices of socio-economic
development. The pupils' parents were mainly low-income farmers whose
annual crop production was far below the requirement of their domestic
consumption and expenditure. It was also understood that due to the
near-total dependence of farmers on rain-fed agriculture and a corresponding
absence of non-agricultural productive activities, most able-bodied men
undertook dry-season circulation. Thus, the timing of *almajirci* to
coincide with the long dry-season makes economic sense. Not only to the
children remain idle and unproductive during this period, but they also
sponge on available and already insufficient resources.
*2.11* *A Source of Cheap Labour *
One of the major conclusions that could be drawn from this research is that
seasonal migration of Qur'anic school pupils thrived because the
*almajirai*were positively integrated into the urban economy as a
source of cheap
labour. And since nearly 85 percent of the *almajirai* were boys below the
age of sixteen who have to fend for themselves, it could be stated that the
institution of almajirci is guilty of subjecting its clients to child
labour/abuse.
Child labour, it needs to be clearly stated, may be exploitative and
socially approvable. In the second category, child's labour becomes part of
the child socialization process. After all, traditionally, child-rearing
customs in Hausa-Fulani society prescribe that the child should be assigned
some domestic work or activity commensurate with the age, sex and physical
ability. Such work/activities serve to provide the child with the necessary
skills and training required for future adult roles. Psychologically, "they
help to provide the child with a sense of personal worth, pride and
accomplishment" (Obilkeze, 1985:21). On the other hand, exploitative and
abusive child labour, as Rogers and Standing (1981) have pointed out, occurs
when a child is made to engage, on a regular basis, in productive or income
yielding activities for which the primary beneficiaries are persons other
than themselves.
The data in our research has provided ample evidence on the magnitude and
pervasive forms of exploitation and abusive child labour. Every member of
the host community in our sample has reported that he has at one time or the
other made use of the migrant pupils' labour. As for the secluded urban
women, whose children go to western-type school in the day, their dependence
on almajirai was considerable. Above all, the pupils were subjected to what
literally amounts to "forced labour" in which the benefits accrue to the
malam alone (Table 6.18). Indeed, most migrant malams depend on this as a
regular source of earning. Generally, almajirci serves as a very cheap
source of labour for the host urban community and the almajirai, thus,
constitute an economic category.
Since the phenomenon of child labour and exploitation is a historical one,
we can conclude that child labour by almajirai in the twentieth century is a
function of a dependent neo-colonial capitalist economy. It has already been
argued that seasonal migration of children and youth from rural to urban
areas was never part of the feature of Islamic education in the pre-colonial
Hausa society. The existence and perpetuation of almajirci could therefore
be explained by the logic of capital the need for cheap labour, rural
proletarianization and increasing poverty which are the direct result of
capitalist development policies.
* *
*3.0 WIDER SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF ALMAJIRCI*
*3.1 Economic Implication *
The results of this study have indicated that foremost among the
determinants of the existence and persistence of almajirci in Hausa society
is the economic factor. The vast majority of the migrant children were from
rural communities, and rural communities in Sokoto state as well as other
part of Hausaland are characterized by mass poverty, virtual absence of
non-agricultural economic activities and general neglect in terms of
provision of infrastructural facilities and other indices of socio-economic
development. The pupils' parents were mainly low-income farmers whose annual
crop production was far below the requirements of their domestic consumption
and expenditure. It was also understood that due to the near-total
dependence of farmers on rain-fed agriculture and a corresponding absence of
non –agricultural productive activities, most able-bodied men undertook
dry-season circulation. Thus, the timing of almajirci to coincide with the
long dry-season makes economic sense. Not only do the children remain idle
and unproductive during this period, but they also sponge on available and
already insufficient resources.
*3.2 Educational Implications *
There is ample evidence from the present study which suggest that the
recruiting and gate-keeping mechanisms of the Western-type schools system
has operated in favour of the minority but highly influential urban class,
who are most likely to fit in with the values and requirements of modern
schools. The system kept the gate shut against the majority but powerless
rural class who are prone to traditionalism and resistance to change which
in effect made them heavily under-represented in these schools. The
quantitative differences in education are reinforced by the tendency of
children to drop at each stage. The socio-economic implications of this
educational process are grave, varied and far reaching. The rural majorities
who have not attended school have neither the skills nor the certificates of
the others. They are unable to compete so successfully in the labour market,
and this means that in a situation in which there are differences of income
between those who are employed and those who work in subsistence agriculture
or in the informal urban sector, they suffer a disadvantage from the
beginning. Beyond the economic distinction between the schooled urbanites
and the non-schooled ruralites there would arise also the physical and
infrastructural imbalance between the urban and rural areas. This is so
because since the rural classes are less-educated they will be
under-represented in politics, bureaucracy and policy-making.
As the Western-type school keeps its gate shut against the rural folk,
the *makarantar
allo *threw its own wide open to them. The makarantar allo is manifestly
continuous with their cultural and religious tradition and at the same time
in harmony with their dominant economic activity. There is no doubt about
the fact that the traditional religious schools which breed the almajirai
produce highly knowledge-able Northern Hausa-Fulani Muslims. However, given
the geo-political configuration of the modern Nigeria, whatever educational
system is adopted by the community should be capable of producing not only a
Hausa-Fulani Muslim but a full Nigerian citizen and, clearly, the
traditional system cannot do this on its own.
If the nation, and Hausa-Fulani Muslim society too, is to develop, the
skills and techniques required for organizing and administering a modern
state must be acquired. In the past, Muslims possessed these assets through
the traditional Qur'anic educational system, but with the advent of
colonialism, things have changed and the historical process cannot be
reversed. Rather than facilitating a free and harmonious interaction
between the Western and Islamic education for the mutual benefit of both
systems, the colonialists placed an iron curtain between them. In effect,
the former denoted all modern branches of knowledge, while the latter was
restricted to Islamic religious knowledge only; one was regarded as
progressive and the other as retrogressive. ''The Western-type was
associated with all the scientific and technological achievements of the
modern times, while the other was harnessed together with retardation,
backwardness and underdevelopment'' (Galadanci, 1993:103).
Hence, any attempt at tackling the phenomenon of almajirci must necessarily
remove the artificial barrier between the two systems. Unless we do that,
the cultural resistance to Western education will continue and the *makarantun
allo* which held sway in the rural areas will continue with their function
of unlimited supply of *almajirai* to the urban towns.
* *
*3.3 Religious and Cultural Implications*
No doubt, the economic and education variables stand out prominently as the
major factors that create that created and perpetuated the contemporary
phenomenon of almajiranci. However, this research has also clearly
demonstrated that the economic and educational variables were themselves
influenced and shaped by religious values and societal norms and customs.
For instance, if the movement of the migrant malams and their pupils from
rural to urban areas are explainable in terms of Todaro's (1969) "push" and
"pull" factors, the behaviour of the host community which provided them with
free shelter, feeding and, in the event of ill-health, free medication, can
only be explained in terms of those religious and cultural values which
encourage hospitality towards those on "sacred mission" and spending surplus
resources on the needy and the less-privileged.
The almajirai may be a source of cheap labour for anybody that patronizes
them, and the secluded urban woman may derive benefit from their services,
but the average wealthy man who built a school compound to accommodate the
migrant pupils or the ordinary man who donates part of his residential house
for similar purpose, along with he who gave them regular or occasional *sadaqa
*(charity) in the form of money, clothing and left over food, did it out of
purely religious consideration. This attitude conforms to what Lubeck
(1986:274) describes as "the ethics and norms of status-honour" among the
privileged members of the Muslim community which necessitated the Qur'anic
students receive alms in the form of food and shelter. In addition, given
the reduction in peasant grain consumption which the seasonal migration of
Quranic School pupils entailed, the institution of almajirci was actually a
form of redistribution of wealth from the more affluent urban dwellers to
the sons of farmers under the norms of Islamic charity. Indeed, I reliably
gathered that from about the age of 18 most of the pupils shun away from
Sokoto and proceed to the economically more prosperous eastern towns of
Gusau, Zaria and Kano. Although, here too, they divide their time between
Islamic learning ( *karatu*) and manual labour (*bida*) they considered
themselves first and foremost as '*yan ci-rani* to confirm the assertion
that, thanks to the nineteenth century jihad led by Usmanu Danfodiyo, Sokoto
is essentially a centre of religion and Islamic scholarship rather than of
commerce and industry. Like any traditional society, religion has pervaded
every sphere of life that it remained the decisive reference point for all
social practices. The influence of *ulema* (religious clergy) is
overwhelming. They are the dominant social critics and opinion moulders. Any
government that did not secure their allegiance and loyalty, or any official
programme that was not sectioned and endorsed by them, is doomed to failure.
Previous attempt by the Sokoto state government to enforce the 1980 edict on
almajiranci entitled "The control of juveniles Accompanying Koranic Mallams
Adoptive Rules "was thwarted by a popular opposition against it spearheaded
by a section of local malams who accused the government of trying to
undermine Islamic education. Perhaps it was this experience that made the
government to be reluctant to promulgate new laws prohibiting the movement
of almajirai as recommended by the 1986 committee on Migrant Qur'anic
Teachers and children. Rather, it stated rather diplomatically:-
*The government has no objection to the migration of a Qur'anic malam with
school children from one lace to another in search of knowledge provided
that he makes adequate arrangement to look after the children under his
care. *(Sokoto State. 1986:3)
The adequate arrangement being "good shelter, provision of good and adequate
food, provision of clothes and taking good care of their health" (Sokoto
State, ibid). The government was simply unwilling to risk the pious protests
and devastating criticisms that greeted the previous edict, for it knows
very well that neither the migrant malams nor the impoverished rural parents
could meet those requirements.
This favourable religious environment, more than any other considerations, w
magnetized the migrant malams and their pupils to Sokoto. Moreover, if the
host community did not guarantee free food and shelter, scarcely any parent
will allow his under-aged ward to leave his village environment in the name
of Qur'anic education.
Therefore, since the belief system and societal norms are partly accountable
for the existence of almajirci, one of the most important conditions for its
eradication is a profound and far-reaching change in the peoples' values and
attitude towards the phenomenon. Of course, it is known that attitudinal
change is the most difficult aspect of social change, especially when it
involved practices that are embedded in religion and many centuries old.
However, it is encouraging to realize that other countries in North Africa
and the Middle East who happened to find themselves in similar circumstances
have attempted it and achieved a remarkable success.
The contemporary Muslims scholars need to take yet another look at their
stance vis-à-vis the reform and modernization of traditional Islamic
education. They should be able to distinguish between the principle and tool
as far as education in Islam is concerned. The principle is that every
Muslim child must have a comprehensive education. This is an absolute,
rather immutable principle. The tool for achieving this objective is however
a different matter. The present makarantar allo system and its almajiranci
sub-system are many centuries old, with hardly any modification or updating.
Colonialism and capitalism have altered the social, economic and political
landscape of this country, and because it has failed to respond positively
to these historical developments, the system remained ossified in the past
and hardly relevant for purposes other than spiritual. The Hausa Muslims of
this generation, let alone those of the coming generations, are not bound by
the old method and system. They must devise new techniques, new methods and
new tools of imparting knowledge and skills to meet the requirements of a
new and rapidly changing social order.
However, as the religious scholars rest on their oars and fail to address
the ever-emerging new issues, the society in its dynamism will proceed
without them. And as the society progresses without scholars it naturally
fails to come to grips with its problems, and the scholars, having been left
behind, and unable to cope with societal dynamics, continue to be irrelevant
and when they attempt to address the society they often sound ridiculous.
So, as we approach the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the
twenty-first century, the Hausa-Fulani society cannot effort to live in the
nineteenth century, not any more. Once there is the political will to tackle
the problems of almajiranci, government can bank on the co-operation a
number of forward looking Muslim organizations and the emerging but
progressive section of the ulema who felt genuinely concerned about the
future of these Muslim children. This means with additional support of other
major agents of social change such as the electronic media organs,
traditional rulers, community and youths organizations, the government could
change the attitudes and perceptions of the people in relation to
traditional system of Islamic education in general and the phenomenon of
almajiranci in particular.
* *
*4.0 STATE'S RESPONSE TO ALMAJIRCI*
The first official attempt to put a halt on the practice of migrant Qur'anic
schooling system was started by Kano Native Authority as far back as 1959
when it warned parents against allowing their children to roam the streets
begging in the name of Islamic scholarship. Qur'anic school teachers were
specifically warned against taking their pupils to other towns without the
approval of the village or district head of the targeted town. The warning
did not yield any fruitful result and, in fact some *malams *waged a
campaign against the local authority, accusing it of ''trying to undermine
Islam'' (Abba, 1983). Since then, it was only after the June 1980 Maitatsine
uprising in Kano that some state governments in the North began to express
their concern about the almajirci phenomenon. Starting with a programme of
clearing beggars from the streets, the Kano State government enacted an
Edict, tagged ''The Qur'anic Schools Registration Edict '' in 1980 which was
subsequently amended in 1988 to read, ''Qur'anic Schools (Registration and
Movement)''.
Also in July 1980, the Sokoto State government signed into law an edict
regulating the movement of almajirai entitled: ''The Control of Juveniles
Accompanying Qur'anic *Mallams* Adoptive Rules''. Six years later, the
government decided to move away from the legalistic approach to the
phenomenon of almajirci and sought for a more practical solution to a
problem that was bordering on social crisis. Consequently, the state
government appointed a Committee on Control of Migrant Qur'anic Teachers and
Children on March 5, 1986. The reason for setting up this committee,
according to the state government, was to enable the government to determine
the needs of these children and provide such needs to settle the children in
western education in their home villages. The terms of reference given to
the committee were as follows:-
i. Determine the locations and number of school and number of children in
each
ii. Determine the home towns and villages of the children
iii. Determine the living condition of these children
iv. Suggest the best way to transport the affected children to their
villages of origin.
v. Recommend the best way to ensure that parents uphold their
responsibility of looking after their children
vi. Make any other suggestions or recommendation aimed at total success in
the exercise.
The committee went into action immediately. It concluded and submitted its
report three months later.
Two years later, the Kano State Government decided to revisit the problem of
*almajiranci *with a view to nipping it in the bud once and for all. On May
24, 1988, the government inaugurated a 10-man Committee on
*Almajirai*comprising leading
*ulama* (Muslim scholars), professionals and other representatives of
diverse interest in the social setting of Kano State. The terms of
reference for the committee were as follows:
i) To determine the best ways the *almajiranci* system can be integrated
with the Western educational system for mutual benefits;
ii) To draw out modalities for the recognition of the *almajiranci*system;
iii) To suggest ways to improve the curricula of the *almajiranci*system
iv) To study the existing laws on the movement of *almajirai* and make
appropriate recommendations for enforcement;
v) To assess the problem of begging by *almajirai* and recommend how best
to eradicate it;
vi) To assess the degree of exposure to which the *almajiranci* system as
it stands subjects pupils to the attendant social ills.
vii) To make any other recommendation the committee may consider relevant
to its assignment.
Clearly, both the Sokoto and Kano State governments have identified *
almajiranci* as a social problem which requires official intervention and
control if not totally eradicated. Going by the terms of reference of their
respective committees, none of the State government demonstrated proper
grasp of the problem in question. Nor was there any attempt to locate the
causes of *almajiranci* phenomenon either in the social, economic,
political, religious or cultural fabric of the society. On the contrary,
the Sokoto State Government was simply anxious to repatriate the migrant
pupils back to their home villages. Thus item no.4 in the terms of
reference was to "suggest the best way to transport the affected children to
their villages of origin", and item No.7 was "to determine the approximate
costs of the logistics''. In a tone suggesting that the parents were solely
responsible for the problems of *almajirci*, the government further directed
the committee to "recommend the best way to ensure that parents uphold their
responsibility of looking after their children at home". Once it enumerated
the schools of the affected children and identified their home villages
(items 1, 2, and 3 above), nothing more is expected from the committee other
than "to make any other suggestions or recommendations aimed at total
success in their exercise" (Sokoto State, 1986).
The Kano State Government on the other hand, perceived *almajirci *as
essentially an educational problem to be tackled by some educational
reforms. In accepting the report of its Committee, the government has
clearly stated that its main intention is "to accord recognition and evolve
a systematic means of control over Qur'anic schools to regulate the
curricula, intake and movement of students" (Kano state, 1988:1).
*Report of the Committees*
The two Committees made a number of observations and recommendations based
on their respective terms of reference. With regard to the integration of
Qur'anic education with Western education, the Kano State committee observed
that most Qur'anic scholars are hesitant to accept the idea. The committee
could, therefore, not recommend anything concrete other than suggesting that
"the government should wage a large campaign to educate the public on the
importance of both Qur'anic and Western education, pointing to the
compatibility of the two" (Kano State 1982:1). As for the recognition of *
almajirci* system, it was recommended that the government should establish
at least one State-funded Qur'anic Model School in each Local Government
Area so that they would serve as demonstration institutions "to show the
people the possibility of acquiring thorough knowledge of the Quran in an
organized modern structure: (Kano State, 1988:2). A similar recommendation
was made by the Sokoto State committee claiming that the measure will
"curtail rampant migration of school children'' (Sokoto State, 1986:4).
Recommendations were also made for improving the curricular and for the
dissemination of new methods of teaching to the Qur'anic teachers.
With regard to the legal provision on *almajiranci*, the Kano State
committee observed that the legislation contained in the 1985 edict on the
movement of *almajirai* had not been widely enforced. A great number of the
teachers were not even aware of it. It, therefore, recommended that the
edict should be written in *ajami* script and the written copies should be
widely circulated so that each registered school is provided with a copy.
In addition, the committee recommended that the said edict should be amended
to contain a specific injunction restraining the movement of children for *
ci-rani*. The government accepted the recommendation and amended the edict
as follows:
(*a) Almajirai below the age of twelve are banned from *
* moving anywhere outside their domains.*
* (b) Those between the ages of 12-17 may move, in*
* accordance with the provision of the Edict,*
* provided the movement is not to the designated*
* 29 urban centres* (Kano State, 1988:6).
In Sokoto State where no previous legislation is available, their committee
recommended that the government should 'enact an edict to restrict the
movement of Migrant Qur'anic teachers and school children '(Sokoto State,
1986:11). The government readily accept the recommendation and directed the
Ministry of Justice to draft an edict in relation to the issue. The edict
had since been signed into law.
Coming to the issue of begging by almajirai, the Kano State committee
observed that a number of Qur'anic scholars seem to think that begging is an
integral part of their profession, and legitimize the practice from
religious view-point. But the committee countered that begging has never
been part of Islamic education. Its practice, they argued, seems notably a
phenomenon of Hausaland which is largely necessitated by not only religious
but socio-economic factors. They therefore recommended, among other things,
that
*The government should make a multi-faceted approach to
the *
* problem of begging by first of all attacking it from its
socio- *
* economic roots. There would be no lasting solutions to
this *
* problem unless an improvement is made in the economic
life of *
* our rural population. Viable rural development policy
would *
* have a determinative impact in this regard.* (Kano State,
1988:9)
One of the major drawbacks of official policy towards almajirci is its
tendency to equate the phenomenon with Qur'anic schooling in all respects.
This is essentially what explains the general emphasis on "reform" of the
system via "improvement" of the curricula and/or "integration" with the
Western educational system. But, as it has been demonstrated earlier, it is
possible to have Qur'anic schools without the attendant problem of
almajiranci. According to Abba (1983), "a number of parents…in Kano city
had never placed their children with itinerant *mallams* or forced them to
beg for arms, and yet these children had grown up to become learned
scholars" (p.197).
Indeed, the twentieth century developments have transformed almajirci
phenomenon itself from an educational to a political economy category
(Indabawa, 1992). So when any policy seeks to reform the almajirci system
by reference to reforming the Qur'anic schooling system, the chances are
that the problems will be left unidentified and unresolved. Similarly,
controlling the movements and registration of pupils are in themselves
"diversionary and amount to a cover-up of the real problem behind the
problems" (Indabawa, 1992:78).
Indications that solution to the problems of almajiranci were far from being
found could be seen from the fact that the much concerned Sokoto State
Government had to inaugurate yet another "Committee to look into the issue
of Almajiranci in Sokoto state" on 20 th January, 1997 with the following
terms of reference:-
(a) To study the phenomenon of almajiranci including various reports
written on the issue in the past; and
(b) To advise the Government on how best to tackle the problem.
Three months later, i.e., in April 1997, the Committee submitted its 54-pgae
report. Ironically, instead of concentrating on the study of "the
phenomenon of *almajirai*:, they exhausted most of their energy on issues
that did not constitute part of their terms of reference, namely, the
rehabilitation of beggar destitutes in the state. The only observation they
could make on *almajirci* was that it was caused by "the government neglect
of Islamic education system" (Sokoto State, 1997-52). Consequently, they
recommended the incorporation of Islamic educational system in the New
National Policy on Education ( p.53).
However, their subsequent recommendations indicated that by 'incorporation'
they meant adequate funding of the traditional Islamic education system
rather than harmonizing it with its modern counterpart. This seems to be
clear when they said:
(a) Government should adequately fund *Islamiyyah* and Qur'anic schools
as done with Primary and Secondary schools;
(b) Local Government should build and equip a Qur'anic school in every
village with 500 tax paying adults;
(c) (State) Government should build and equip *Islamiyyah *schools in
every community with over 1,000 paying adults.
(d) Local Governments should pay salaries of Qur'anic school teachers
while State Government pays *Islamiyyah* teachers (Sokoto State,
1997:53-54).
* * *5.0 SOLVING THE PROBLEMS OF ALMAJIRCI*
Recent attempts to provide solutions to the problems of almajirci, as
discussed above, tended to be too legalistic. Of course, there is nothing
wrong in applying legal framework to sanitize a social practice that was
getting chaotic. This should however come only after the fundamental
problems relating to rural poverty, education, religion and culture are
properly addressed.
A careful perusal of the edicts promulgated by the Sokoto State Government
in 1980, and Kano state government in 1986 will reveal that both did not
purport to out rightly ban the movement of almajirai as such, but rather to
regulate, control and restrict the movements. For example, both edicts
require that the migrant malam and his school should be duly registered in
his local government of origin. He needs to obtain a valid transfer
certificate and the necessary permit granted under the edict before he could
move with his pupils an inch outside his domicile. In addition, whenever a
migrant malam arrives at his destination, he must immediately present the
relevant documents to the local government council through the village head
of the locality for endorsement. In order to minimize the dehumanizing act
of begging by the almajirai, the Kano state Edict (CAP. 74) specifically
stipulated that:-
*No permit shall be issued in respect of any student who is below the age of
twelve years out of the locality in the local government council in which
his parent or guardian reside. *In addition, every village head must
*ensure that each parent or guardian has given some financial assistance to
the Koranic mallam which will help in the maintenance of his son or
ward *Accordingly,
in keeping with the universal legal tradition, the official transfer
certificate and permit are revocable if a local government is satisfied that
the migrant malam has failed to comply with any of the provisions of the
edicts or "it is in the public interest to do so" ( Kano State, op-cit )
The laws themselves are relevant and comprehensive and are potentially
capable of providing legal support to the socio-economic measures discussed
above. However, in the light of the findings of this research the edicts
need to undergo fundamental amendments and refinements as follows:-
1. The age limit for participation in almajiranci networks should be raised
from 12 to 16. This provision will technically ban over 80 percent of the
seasonal movement and at the same time ensure that only those not of school
age and who can fend for themselves without begging are allowed to leave
their villages.
2. Since almajirci took the form of rural-urban migration, migrant malams
should be not granted permission for movement to any designated urban area
including local government headquarters
Finally, even though the problems of almajirci affected mostly states in
Northern Nigeria, the law should be adopted and enforced by all the states
of the federation. This is necessary because if it is left to individuals
states to enact the law, the migrant malams could take their pupils to the
states where the law has not been promulgated. Mohammed (1991) recalled that
in the 1950s when Katsina Native authority passed a bye-law prohibiting
malams from taking children out their towns and villages. The malams avoided
Katsina and took their pupils to Kano and Sokoto provinces thus rendering
the law useless. Also, in 1980 when the Sokoto State government enacted and
enforced the relevant edict restricting the movement of almajirai, the
malams avoided Sokoto and took their pupils to Katsina, Kaduna, Niger and
even Kwara and Oyo in the south.
* Conclusion *
The position of this paper is that the contemporary almajirci which involve
mass movement of school–age Qur'anic school pupils to urban areas was never
part of the features of Islamic education in Hausaland before the advent of
colonialism.
While the religious beliefs and local customs played a prominent role in the
promotion and legitimating of the practice, the phenomenon of almajirci is
ultimately a function of perennial rural poverty brought about by capitalist
development processes and closely linked to the pace of urbanization and
lopsided development accelerated by oil wealth and the widespread expansion
of primary education in the country.
Any effort aimed at tackling the problems of almajiranci that does not
address the fundamental problems of rural sector which, "despite pious
protestations of successive governments since independence", according to
Abdulllahi (1995:6), "has remained a depressed sector steeped in poverty and
the near absence of social services", is doomed to failure. In other words,
it is only when a direct and missive assault on rural poverty is given
priority that the re-orientation of people's belief and attitude, state
intervention via educational reforms and legal framework, could make
meaning.
Given the role of government as a major agent of change by virtue of its
geo-political configuration of the nation and the nature of its political
economy which provided for the dominance of the state in socio-economic
policies, educational and legal frameworks, it is the government that should
spearhead these changes. How such government itself could come about should
be the subject-matter of another paper.
From the foregoing discussion it is clear that any attempt aimed at tackling
the phenomenon of *almajiranci* must first attack it from its socio-economic
root. Therefore, any attempt aimed at tackling the phenomenon of almajirci
must first attack it from its socio-economic roots.
However, it need to be pointed out that any effort at curing poverty would
vary according to the nature and causes of poverty as well as the wealth at
the nation's disposal. So, since agriculture is the mainstay of the rural
Hausa economy, efforts should be intensified towards improving the farmers'
productivity and, by extension, solving the problems of almajiranci.
The provision of rural roads, for instance, is very important in
agricultural development, because it facilitates the evacuation of produce
and constant link between the rural and urban communities thereby enhancing
exchange of ideas and practices. Provision of electricity, portable water
and health services will, in addition to making life easier and happier,
boost the development of informal sector and attract agro-industrial firms
to engage in backward integration. If these and many other rural development
strategies are adopted and meticulously executed, income and productivity of
the rural people will increase, and the tide of rural urban movements could
be stemmed. * *
So long as mass rural poverty exists, and so long as improvement is not made
in the economic life of the rural population, *almajiranci* will flourish,
and the number of its clients will increase steadily relative to population
growth and to the down-turn in rural economic fortunes.
*
*
*References*
* *
Abba, I.A. (1983), *Bara *by Some *Almajirai* in the 20th Century: A
Critical Assessment" in B.M. Barkindo (ed.), *Studies in the History of **
Kano*, Ibadan Heinemann.
Chamberlain. J. W. (1975) The Development of Islamic Education in
Kano City', unpublished Ph.D. thesis. Columbia University.
Ibn Khaldun (1967), *The Muqaddimah*, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Indabawa, A.S. (1992), *Almajirai *Qur'anic Schooling and the Kano State
Social Policy: Kano State.Yadudu (ed.), *The Conception* and Implementation
of a Social Policy, *Kano State Experience* , Kano Bayero University.
Kano State (1988), *Report of the Committee on Almajirai*, Kano : Government
Printer.
Khalid, S. (1997), "A Socio_Economc Study of the Transformation of Migrant
Quranic School System ( *Almajirnaci)* in Sokoto Metropolis, 1970-1995",
Ph.D. Thesis, Bayero University Kano.
Khalid, S. (2001) 'Nigeria's Educational Crisis: The Almajirci System and
Social Realities' in *Islamic Culture* vol. LXXV, no.3, July.
Khalid, S. (1997) Almajiranci: An Assessment of Official Response to the
Phenomenon' in *The BEAM: Journal of Arts and Social Sciences*, vol. 3,
March.
Lubeck, P. (1986) *Islam and Urban Labour in **Northern Nigeria.* Cambridge:
C.U.P.
Sokoto State (1986), *Report of the Committee for **Migrant School Children,
* Sokoto, Government Printer.
………. (1997), Report of the Committee on the Issue of *Almajirai* in Sokoto
state, unpublished report submitted to the Sokoto State Government,
April.
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